Adjustable fourble board and spring-tension finger for drill derricks



I. F. BAILEY March 24, 1931.

ADJUSTABLE FOURBLE BOARD AND SPRING TENSION FINGER FOR DRILL DERRICKS Filed July 2, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 I. F. BAILEY March 24, 1931.

ADJUSTABLE FOURBLE BOARD AND SPRING TENSIQN FINGER FOR DRILL DERRICKS Filed July 2, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 24, 1931. F. BAILEY 1,797,492

ADJUSTABLE FOURBLE BOARD AND SPRING TENSION FINGER FOR DRILL DERRICKS Filed July 2, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Mar. 24, 1931 UNITED STATS IMON .F. BAILEY, or LONG BEACH,

ENT QFFECE CALIFORNIA Application filed July 2, 1928.

My invention is an adjustable fourble board and finger for drill derricks.

In deep well drilling operations it is necessary frequently to withdraw the drill pipes 6 or rods from the well and stack these in the derrick, and to start the drilling operation it is necessary to reconnect the stands of drill pipes or rods and reinsert these in the well. In the stacking operation the pipes or rods or the well casings are arranged in the derrick with the lower ends of the casings, tubes or rods resting on the derrick floor.

These stands are sloped so that the upper end engages what is termed a fourble board. This board is secured to the legs of the derrick at one side and supports the upper ends of the stands. The finger extends substantially at right angles to the fourble board inwardly of the derrick and the stands of pipes hoisted by the derrick cable are shifted from one side of the finger to the other so that they may be stacked in rows resting along the edge of the fourble board and held in position by the finger.

An object of my invention is the construction of a finger so that it may be adjustable with reference to the fourble board with an adjustable support or strut allowing this board to be at right angles to the fourble 50 board or at a slight inclination thereto. In

practice I construct the fourble board with a flat metal upper surface and form the finger of an H-shaped beam secured by its lower flange with adjustable clamps. A strut is formed of a beam adjustably mounted at an end part of the fourble board and braces the finger.

Another object of my invention is the mounting of a shiftable end on the finger on a vertical pivotal connection so that if this end is struck by the block and tackle, by the cables, or by the stands of pipe,rods or oasing, in being handled, that the end may pivoton the pivotal connection and prevent breakage.

In this construction I utilize a metal finger end which has a vertical pivotal connection between ears secured to the fin er or beam, and on the side opposite the run of the cables there are secured a set of leaf springs which Serial No. 289,731.

are under tension to hold the finger end in alignment with the finger, but allow this end on the vertical pintle to pivot when struck on the front face by the cable, the blocks or the stands being handled.

My invention and its application is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a side elevation partly broken away of a well derrick showing the installation of our invention,

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on the line 22 of Fig. 1 in the direction of the arrows,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view similar to Fig. 2 of part of the fourble board illustrating the mounting of the finger with the pivotal end and the brace or support, portions pf lthis being broken away to illustrate de- Fig. 4 is a detail vertical section on the line 44 of Fig. 3 in the direction of the arrows,

Fig. 5 is a detail vertical section on the line 55 of Fig. 3 in the direction of the arrows showing the mounting of the finger on the fourble boa-rd,

Fig. 6 is a detail vertical section on the line 6-6 of Figs. 3 or 7 taken in the direction of the arrows, showing the adjustable mounting of the brace on the fourble board,

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal section of the brace and its mounting taken in the direction of the arrow 7 of Figs. 3 or,6,

Fig. 8 is a detail vertical section. on the line 88-of Fig. 3 in the direction of the arrows, showing the adjustable mounting of the fourble board on the girts of the derrick,

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of our adjustable finger and finger end with the brace in relation tothe fourble board, indicating the stacking of pipes,

Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2, the derrick as a whole is designated generally by the numeral 11, having a substantial floor 12 and with posts'13. The posts are connected by girts 14 and by the usual diagonal bracing 15. From the crown block 16 at the top of the wall there is suspended the derrick cables 7 having blocks 18 and hooks 19 illustrated as connected to an elevator 20 shown as handling a pipe 21.

The fourble board is designated generally by the numeral 22 and rests on a pair of girts and fits against the inside surface of a pair of the derrick posts. The finger is designated generally by the numeral 23, having an adjustable end 24, the board being braced by a strut-like brace 25.

Extending from the opposite side of the derrick there is an inwardly projecting beam termed a monkey board 26, this being held in place by a diagonal horizontal beam 27.

In handling drill pipe or the like an operator walks out from the fourble board onto the finger 23 and may straddle the space between the finger end 24 and the monkey board 26 thereby guiding the pipe in-the space 28 between the finger and the monkey board so that the pipe may be stacked as indicated at 29. In this operation the blocks, the cables, the hook, the elevator or the pipes themselves may strike the front face of the finger end and as these are sometimes made rigid they readily break or become badly damaged, but with our construction of pivoted finger end such end may give, inclining to the rear side, as illustrated in Fig. 3, without damage to the finger or to the finger end.

The fourble board 22 is preferably constructed with a webb 31 having flanges 32 on the rim. Each end has a cutout section 33 fitted on the posts and is provided with a corrugated plate 3st at each end which is secured to the fourble board by rivets or bolts. The plate and the fourble board have longitudinal slots 35 through which extends a clamping bolt 36 having a T-shaped head 37 to fit in the grooves in the plate 3 1 This bolt is secured to one of the girts of the derrick and allows fitting of the fourble board to derricks of slightly different dimensions.

The mounting of the finger 23 is substantially as follows: The fourble board is pro vided with a plurality of longitudinal slots 38 and has clamps'39 with clamping bolts 4.0 extending through these slots and through the clamps. The clamps are formed angular as shown in Fig. 5 and engage the lower flange 41 of the finger, this finger having a webb 42 and an upper flange 43. lVith this construction the finger may be adjusted to wards and from the center of the derrick, or the clamps may be adjusted in the slots 38 to vary the angle both ways from a right angle connection to the fourble board.

The connection of the finger end to the finger utilizes a pintle member 44, preferably a casting, which is secured to the outer end of the fourble board, this having a pair of ears 45 with a tongue -16 of the finger end 24: extending between the ears, there being a pintle pin l? extending through the ears and the tongue. The finger end is made of metal and has upper and lower sides 4:8 with an opening 49 therebetween bridged by a bolt 50. This bolt supports the outer ends of the springs 51 which springs extend past the pintle pin 47 and have inwardly turned flanges 52 secured to the base 53 of the pintle piece casting 4:4.

The finger end is provided with a lug 5l which is adapted to engage a stop 55 mounted on the base of the casting 44 and thus limit the movement of the finger end. The back edge of the finger end is provided with a series of holes 56 in which may be fitted a pin 57 secured by a chain 58 to the finger end.

The manner of operation and functioning of the finger and finger end is as follows: The side adjacent the center of the derrick is designated the front side or face of the finger, and if the finger end is struck by either the cables or the operative mechanism connected thereto or by the couplings or drill pipes, the linger end may pivot inwardly from the position shown in solid lines in Fig. 3 to the dotted line position, the springs giving a resistance to this movement and returning the finger end to normal position. A derrick man may from the fourble board on the finger and straddle the space 28, resting one foot on the monkey board and guide the pipes through the space 28, stacking them as shown at29 of Fig. 2.

In removing the pipes from the stack it is usual to incline the pipes one at a time so that they will rest against the pin 57; therefore it is only necessary to swin the elevator a small amount from the direction vertical to grasp the ends of the pipes. It will be noted that the finger is braced by an adjustable tie rod 59 connected to an upper portion of the derrick.

The mounting of the bracing beam or strut 25 is as follows: This beam is preferably rectangular in cross section, having a beam structure 60. This has its outer end 61 bearing against the web 42 of the finger. Fitted over the inner portion of the beam there is an inverted channel 62, this having a web 63 with corrugations 64 and depending flanges 65. The web has a longitudinal slot 66 through which extend clamping bolts 67 having T-shaped ends 68. These bolts extend downwardly through holes in the beam and through a longitudinal slot 69 in the fourble board. this slot being made at an angle to the longitudinal direction of the board. By this construction the beam with inverted channel 62 may be shifted slightly longitudinally of the fourble board and clamped in adjusted position sothat there is always a sufficient pressure on the side of the finger to withstand the pressure of a stack of pipes; and by this construction an adjustment may be made to accommodate different sizes of derricks.

Various changes may be made in the principles of my invention without departing from the spirit thereof, as set forth in the dc scription, drawings and claims.

I claim 2 1. In combination a drill derrick, a beamlike structure extending from one of the sides inwardly, and a horizontally movable end structure on the inner end of the beam.

2. I11 combination a drill derrick, a beamlike structure extending inwardly from one of the sides of the derrick forming a finger, and a horizontally shiftable finger end mounted on the inner end of the beam with a resilient means to return the finger end to its normal position.

3. In combination a drill derrick, a beamlike slidable structure adjustably connected to one side of the derrick and extending inwardly forming a finger, the said adjustment permitting the positioning of the beam at substantially right angles to the side of the derrick or at a slight inclination thereto, a finger end movably connected to the inner end of the beam to shift laterally on being struck on one side.

4. In combination a drill derrick as claimed in claim 3, the finger end pivotally connected to the inner end of the beam, and a spring interconnected between the finger end and the beam normally retaining the finger end in alignment with the beam, the finger end being shiftable to one side when strpck by an operative mechanism of the der- IlC r.

5. In combination a drill derrick, a beamlike structure formed of H-shaped metal having a lower flange with means to connect same adjustably to part of the derrick, and a finger end pivotally connected to the inner end of the beam with a spring retaining the finger end in its normal position, the said finger end being shiftable laterally against the pressure of the spring.

6. In. combination a drill derrick as claimed in claim 5, means to secure the beam to the derrick comprising a horizontal plate having slots therein, and clamps engaging the lower flange of the beam.

7 In combination a drill derrick, a horizontal plate connected between opposite sides of the derrick and adjacent one of the sides, a beam connected to said plate and extending inwardly, and a finger end pivotally mounted on the inner end of the beam and having a spring to normally retain the finger in alignment with the beam.

8. In combination on a drill derrick as claimed in claim 7, a strut adjustably connected to the horizontal plate and having a free end engaging the side of the said beam.

9. In combination a drill derrick having posts and girts, a horizontal plate adj ustably connected to opposite girts and engaging a pair of corner posts forming a fourble board, a beam adjustably mounted on the said plate and extending inwardly towards the center of the derrick forming a finger, and a strut adjustably connected to the said plate and engaging the side of the said beam, the beam being formed of metal H-shaped in cross section and having a pintle member with ears secured to the inner end of the beam a finger end having a tongue extending between said ears with a pivotal connection thereto, and springs secured to the said pintle member and engaging the said finger.

10. In combination a drill derrick, a horizontal plate secured to opposite sides of the derrick and being positioned adjacent one side, a beam formed of H-sha-ped metal adjustably secured to the plate, with clamps and bolts sliding in slots in the plate, the inner end of the beam having a pintle member with horizontal ears, a finger end with a horizontal tongue fitted between said ears, a vertical pintle through the ears and the tongue, interengaging means between the tongue and the pintle member to position the finger end in normal alignment with the beam, and a spring secured to the pintle member and engaging the finger end.

11. In combination a drill derrick as claimed in claim 10, a strut formed of wood rectangular in cross section and having a channel-shaped metal structure fitted thereover adjacent one end, the said structure having a slot in the web of the channel, and bolts extending through the slot and engaging the horizontal plate.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

IMON F. BAILEY. 

